Without You

Written by Marley Valentine

Narrated by Tim Paige and Teddy Hamilton

Tragedy brought us together, but something stronger made me want to stay.



Julian was the boy next door. My brother's best friend, he fit with my family in ways I never could. While he and Rhett went on to play house, I left the only life I knew, desperate for a fresh start. Until everything changed.



Heartache came along, and the aftermath of my brother's death was here to stay. I was now face to face with Julian more than I ever wanted to be.



Being around him brought up all my insecurities, forced me to deal with hard truths, and conjured up feelings I had no business entertaining. He wasn't the man I thought I knew. He was complex and layered, and inherently beautiful in all the ways I'd never noticed.



Not on another person. Not on another man. Not until him.



Contains mature themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jul 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781705237847

Reviews for Without You

[Lynn Anne · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"If someone makes you feel, let them."

Trauma bonding with heavy undertones of grief.

[Caitlin Meuser · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was really sweet. I definitely had tears at some points and butterflies at others. A beautiful love story. The sex scenes were medium hot and a small sprinkling of them through out. Definitely worth the read.

[Judy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was good and narration enjoyable. Recommended for mm romance lovers.

[queenbruce56 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Narration was superb and the story was amazing,what a beautiful story about loss,grief and getting a second chance to happiness and love.

[Rasheen Warmington · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was raised religious so there were certain references to “God” that was difficult for me to swallow. However, I loved the story, the plot, Deacon and Julian didn’t just warm my heart, they set it on fire and dragged me along with them in their journey. I listened to this audiobook 3 times on different platforms, and it’s my intention to own the physical copy as well because it will hold a place in my classic go-to collection. The narrators did a phenomenal job like the finishing touches on a cake before its displayed. Perfection

[Angela White · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful, gut wrenching journey
Grief can be as powerful as the love and devotion it was born of.

[melissa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book! I laughed and cried! But they were all happy tears!! Awesome book!

[Karen He · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Book: ★★★★★
Audio: ★★★★★

This is my kind of bittersweet love story! Julian happens to be the boyfriend of Deacon's deceased brother, Rhett. Julian and Deacon have known each other since they were kids, but they barely understand each other because Deacon has intentively distanced himself from his family and childhood friends. It's been years of misunderstandings, and the crushing loss of someone they both held dear made these familiar strangers finally start getting to know each other and fall head over heels in love.

The bitter part of this whole story is their guilt and betrayal feelings towards Deacon's dead brother. And also the constant harassment and emotional despise coming from Deacon's own mother. But amidst all that, the love between Julian and Deacon is just so damn sweet. The author really knows how to capture all those heartfelt emotions and make you feel them deep down. And let me tell you, when Rhett's final words come into play, they hit you right in the feels and make your heart melt.

Don't forget about the audiobook. It's narrated by two amazing narrators, and it's definitely worth giving it a shot. 

這是上次那部What we broke 的關聯作，時間線上發生的更早一些，是車行老闆Deacon 與他老公Julian的故事。

這一部同樣是有"失去至親"這麼一個故事背景。Deacon的弟弟患白血病去世，留下傷心欲絕的竹馬男友Julian。Deacon與Julian雖然從小就認識，但從來沒有深交，原因在於Deacon的刻意疏遠，兩人可以說是最熟悉的陌生人。但失去至親的孤獨使得兩人得以有機會相互安慰相互理解。

整體故事酸酸甜甜，是我喜歡的調調。一方面對死去弟弟/前男友的內疚和成為替代品的擔憂造成了兩人發展戀愛關係的阻礙，另一方面Deacon母親的情感勒索令人十分心疼Deacon。我最欣賞的是Deacon的家庭問題到最後也沒有真正解決，作者並沒有因為要寫一個cheesy大團圓結局就刻意把“壞人”都寫到改邪歸正，我覺得這樣才比較合理。

兩人相處的小細節又非常甜：給對方找伴又暗暗吃醋，忽略時差且無休止的電話短信，各種無微不至的小驚喜小關懷等等。最後，故事以死去的弟弟的遺言作結，這是從故事一開始就埋下的伏筆，溫暖又感人。

一連看了兩部這個作者的作品，發現這個作者很喜歡用排比句式。我覺得適當時候使用還是挺優美的，但使用過多的話可能會有點做作。這一點需要斟酌欣賞。

有聲書很棒，跟what we broke一樣是雙POV配雙演員，連epilogue都錄了！真的誠意滿滿，而且演員的演繹也很到位。

[Unathi Guma · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was a little sad. Almost everything in this story is tinged with sadness and or regret. It's so present that it makes it challenging to cheer and be joyful in the happy parts. It was, to me, a very sad story with good moments in between.

[Amy Sweeney · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bittersweet man I really enjoyed these two so much, my heart aches for them but at the end it really was put back together especially after the letter

[william Björling · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant book!
Loved the story. I’m glad I listened to it because the narrator was perfect.
Highly recomend !

[Els Rombaut · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was blown away by this amazing love story. The narration for both characters was spot on. I remain a huge fan of Tim Paige ❤️

[olga nyamakope · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Review to follow the story was filled with love, grief and challenges with familial relationships. I felt like Deacon's mother completely failed at motherhood. It was no one's fault that Rhett succumbed to his struggle with cancer I am sure everyone including Rhett himself and Deacon would have done anything to avoid Rhett's death but nothing could be done and it was no one's fault. Unfortunately in real life there are mothers like her, sadly.
It was a tough decision for Julian and Deacon to pursue a relationship because there was grief and guilt in their path but they got through it. It was a very good story with real life lessons too.

[Kevin Skylar Dragunov · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed this book and finished it in just 2 days even when I am very busy with work, Thank you!

[Jen McMurtrey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow! This was so great. Definitely in my top 3 MM romances. Narration was perfection.

[David · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s just a perfect jewel of a story that will remain with me. Lovely! Beautiful!

[Shai Pednekar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing ? loved the progression and how their love deepened for one another

[Thea mama Emma · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very sweet story even for heterosexual people. Loved it! Recommended

[ChrisSusanto · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's a beautiful story. I wished it had placed more emphasis on Rhetts letter to Julian.

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tragedy brought us together, but something stronger made me want to stay.
Deacon and Julian are both struggling with the death of Rhett, who was Deacon’s brother and Julian’s boyfriend. Rhett was always the favorite son and Deacon never felt that he "fit in" and his mother was horrid to him and his father allowed it. Julian, though not family, always seemed to fit in in ways that Deacon never could, and Deacon has always been jealous of the ease that Julian seemed to have with his own family...he always had lived in Rhett’s shadow. Then when Deacon sees how much Julian is struggling with Rhett’s death, he reaches out and wonders how he never noticed Julian before.

This is a story filled with intensity as Deacon and Julian struggle with first finding some "common ground" and then starting to acknowledge that they have feelings for each other. Deacon has never been attracted to another man before, but that doesn’t really throw him off much as the fact that the man he's attracted to is Julian. It’s not easy as both struggle with feelings of guilt. They are respectful of each other and acknowledge at one point that some things may simply not be "theirs to have...but also may not be "theirs to question", Soon they find that they actually "work"... in ways they truly never thought possible, and they not only find a close friendship, but a true love.

My only issue with this story was Julian and Deacon’s mother. It was never really made clear the reason why she had such disdain for one of her own children. Deacon had a sister, as well, who was also treated fine. So much of Deacon's story stems from the issues with his mother, I would have liked a bit more insight.

Otherwise, this was another really good book by a wonderful author that writes sweet stories and gives her characters happiness and love. I'm on to the second book in this series.

[jorgeousjotts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dec's attitude and perception and attraction all changed very suddenly near the beginning, and I didn't entirely buy the transition. But that aside I enjoyed it. It was an interesting premise, and I liked them for each other. A feel-good cute ending.

[okies-600424 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In some ways, this novel doesn't get off to a good start - it's quite slow in the first 1/3 and the grief around the death of Rhett, and aftermath. It's a timelessly heartbreaking story, full of immoveable sorrow for the family.

But the second half, when Julian and Deacon find each other, is a heart stopping love story, which saves them both, especially Deacon, who is narrated to perfection as usual by Teddy Hamilton - at least I think that is who narrates him - I wish that was made clearer by the audiobook makers. Tim Paige is also one of my favourite narrators..

The 2 MCs both are very good at finding the right words to express the ocean of their feelings. Wow, if only we were all so articulate! They are ridiculous.

This is my third Marley Valentine novel and each one has been a great and deep love story, surrounded by tragedy. Like a rising phoenix from tragedy's ashes.

I don't know whether I'm being manipulated by easy shots, but gosh, all the emotion Valentine injects into her writing works. These novels are romantic and full of revelation.

I can see below that my fellow readers felt the same way - about how powerfully this book impacted our emotions - and I agree that the epilogue set 4 years later was brilliant - a lovely counterpoint to the heaviness of the journey we took.

[selia-26098 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I adore this book. People are realistically portrayed as flawed and complicated in their grief and family conflicts. I love both MCs and Wade, and just love this book.

There were a couple of things hinted at that were never explained which annoys me, but they were minor. I loved the characters and the family drama seemed real, not OTT, but enough to add depth to the story and was resolved satisfactorily.

There's a bonus epilogue available too that was also great to read, set 4 years later.

[spinsterrevival · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was gorgeous. There was a lot of grief and issues happening both with them and around them, but the falling in love was wonderful as these two were really made for each other. I also loved that there wasn’t a bit of hiding or questioning from Deacon who had always identified as straight.

[debbyec-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful Book

Wow, wow, wow!! I fell in love with this beautiful book and I read it in one sitting. The love story progressed realistically and even though there is an element of taboo, their relationship felt perfect and meant to be. I can’t wait to read more from the author!

[tetisheri-604255 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing

I legit don't have the words to describe how amazing this boot is. It gutted me at times and then filled me back up. I have all the good feelz from it.